Anne Macrae is a Scottish neighbor in Provence who shares my love of simple, big tastes. She served this luscious gratin one spring evening and explained that she devised the recipe when she and her husband, John, lived in an isolated part of northern Provence, in the Drôme. There were no fresh-produce markets nearby, but thanks to neighboring farmers she always had plenty of fresh goat's milk cheese—known astomme.Her larder was always filled with the meaty black olives from nearby Nyons, and wild herbs were as near as the back door. In summer months Anne prepares the sizzling, fragrant first course with fresh tomatoes, and in the winter months she uses canned tomatoes. That evening she served the gratin in the individual gratin dishes, but I suggested it might be easier to make one huge gratin and pass it around. "I used to do that," she countered, "but people got greedy and never left enough for the other guests!" So controlled portions it is! This dish lends itself to endless variations: Think of it simply as a pizza without the crust. Add julienned bits of proscuitto, a bit of cooked sausage, sautéed mushrooms, or marinated artichokes. It's also a convenient dish when you're alone and want something warm and quick. I always add fresh hyssop, for the Provençal herb's pungent, mintlike flavor blends well with the tomato-cheese-olive trinity.
Ingredients
Makes 6 servings
Step 1
1. Preheat the broiler.
Step 2
2. Scatter the cheese on the bottom of the baking dish or dishes. Sprinkle with half of the herbs. Spoon on just enough tomato sauce to evenly coat the cheese. Sprinkle with olives and the remaining herbs.
Step 3
3. Place the baking dish or dishes under the broiler about 3 inches (8 cm) from the heat. Broil until the cheese is melted and fragrant, and the tomato sauce is sizzling, 2 to 3 minutes.
Wine suggestion:
Step 4
Think of what you'd normally serve with pizza; a pleasant, vigorous red such as a young French Corbières from the Roussilon, a dry Italian red such as a Barbera d'Alba, an Australian Shiraz, or a California Zinfandel.
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Reviews (11)
Back to TopI did this as an appetizer for our Provencial Christmas. It rocked!! My husband, who is not an olive or goat cheese lover had seconds!! I will most definitely do this again.
tfrkar
Johnson City, TN
12/31/2009
Wonderfully good flavor combination. I have also used the cheese and herb mixture as a filling for ravioli with the tomato sauce and black olives as the sauce. More work but just as good.
shearob
9/21/2009
Wonderful and easy!
Anonymous
Virginia
8/11/2006
God, this was SO GOOD. And SO easy to make too. Amazing appetizer. No one else could stop eating it either, I mean, unless I was hogging the plate myself, holding it up to my face like a pig. And with the red zin, it was amazing...I can eat this forever.
Anonymous
S. Florida
7/15/2004
I was suprised by how tasty this dish was. It was so simple and quick to make yet tasted almost heavenly. It also has a beautiful presentation if you actually bake it in the individual dishes. It does need to be served with bread because it's all flavor and not much substance. Also, I just left out the hyssop but it didn't hurt the taste any from what I could tell. I would definately recommend that anyone, who is a fan of goat cheese, try this dish.
Anonymous
Alpharetta, GA
1/2/2003
We substituted fresh tomatoes for tomato sauce(it's August.)And we're wondering what hyssop is??.. We had no idea so we used some herbes de Provence instead. It was tasty and delicious with just a piquant edge from the olives and fresh tomatoes. It really was like pizza without the crust like she says (except we used some fresh baguette to mop up and it was more like pizza in seperate sections.)
Anonymous
New York, NY
9/4/2002
While the dish came out unexpectedly mushy, it was very tasty. No problem, we served it with baguette and used it as a spread. We also substituted a few leaves of sage for the hyssop. It went great with the red zinfandel that we served.
Anonymous
Austin, TX
1/6/2002
Oh = how fun is this!!! I didn't realize until I started cooking that I didn't have tomato sauce (homemade or otherwise) so I improvised with a can of crushed tomatoes, rosemary, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, THEN I realized I didn't have good quality olives so I used olive salad from COSTCO. Totally delicious anyway -
Anonymous
Philadelphia, PA
9/19/2001
This is an excellent appetizer and very easy to make. My husband and I make it often.
Anonymous
Greensboro, NC
7/30/2001
This sounds delicious...Does anyone have a good herb substitution for the hyssop? Mint, perhaps?
Anonymous
Alpharetta, GA.
6/3/2001
I absolutely loved this recipe-made it without the olives and thought it was faulous!
Anonymous
Boston, MA
1/15/2001
I absolutely loved this recipe-made it without the olives and thought it was faulous!
Anonymous
Boston, MA
1/15/2001
I absolutely loved this recipe-made it without the olives and thought it was faulous!
Anonymous
Boston, MA
1/15/2001
